The generation gap in
language is nothing new:
Adults and kids have long
lamented that the other
just doesn’t get it. Surely,
they are speaking different languages. Nowhere
is this more evident than
in the way we use smartphones: One group prefers
to dial a number for a chat
and the other can communicate entire paragraphs
via emojis. The smiley
faces, hearts and colorful
icons serve as a shorthand
in text messages and social media.

Though most simply
shake their head and
complain about “those
damn kids” or “those old
geezers,” the Hill Aerospace Museum in the
town of Roy has found a
way to bring both together in a way both groups
will understand: an emoji
scavenger hunt.
Using emojis as clues,
families can seek out
certain aircraft—the
Grandpa emoji plus a
waving hand equals “Old
Shakey,” a C-124 cargo

aircraft. The idea itself is
a cross-generational collaboration between Education Specialist Mark
Standing and his summer
interns from Utah colleges and universities.
“The clues are all
awesome, very clever,”
says Robb Alexander,
Executive Director at
the Aerospace Heritage
Foundation. “Museum
patrons—kids and adults
alike—have really loved
doing this together.”

In Utah, you’ve got to take a clear
and vocal side in the Holy War
between the U and BYU. Luckily,
you can trash-talk using emojis.
Flash the U with the Umoji app
from the University of Utah, or Rep
the Y with a BYU Emoji Keyboard;
both are available on iTunes and
Google Store.

THE
BOOK
OF
MORMON
And so it came to pass that the
LDS church got in on the emoji
trend, too. Mormojis, developed
by Smithfield-based developers
Mormon Buzzz, aims to bring
Latter Day Saints to modern day
communication with an emoji
keyboard that includes Nephi,
The Book of Mormon and those
ubiquitous name tags.

If Utah had a state emoji, what
would it be? A 2015 study from
SwiftKey looked at the most
popular emojis in all 50 states:
Hawaiians, not surprisingly, use
the surfer emoji the most, while
the pants emoji is king in Maryland
(we’re still trying to figure that
one out). In Utah, we’re all about
the sweet stuff, using the lollipop
emoji most frequently.